Round pin



Sept. 16, 1958 R. M. HUTFLES ROUND PIN 7 Filed Dec. 28, 1956 INVENTOR. RAMO/VA MI HUTFLES United States Patent I ROUND PIN Ramona M. Hutfles, Denver, Colo. Application December 28, 1956, Serial No. 631,085

6 Claims. (Cl. 24-103) This invention relates to a round pin or fastening device, and more particularly to fastening devices adapted to attach objects, such as buttons and the like to articles, such as garments formed of cloth or similar material.

Buttons and the like are normally attached by threads to garments, but when the garment is to be cleaned, either by washing or by dry cleaning, it is often desirable to remove the buttons to prevent damage thereto or interference with the cleaning operation. However, it is a time-consuming task to remove buttons which are attached by threads and then resew the buttons to the garment after cleaning. Also, since buttons are often used for decorative purposes, the user may desire that a different set of buttons be attached for dilferent occasions, or different sets of buttons may be desired to be attached to the garment, to ascertain the decorative effect, as

in a store or similar establishment. Also, buttons previously sewed to the garment may become accidentally detached and neither the time nor facilities may be available to resew the button. Various types of buttons have been developed, which include an eye or a stem provided with a hole, so that the button may be either sewed to a garment or the eye or stem inserted through a suitably reinforced hole in the garment for'attachment by a clip or other type of pin-like fastener. When such reinforced holes are not provided, safety pins of the common type have been used to attach a button to a garment or the like, but it is difficult to attach a button accurately in a desired position with a safety pin, while the button also tends to shift in position after attachment due to the length of that portion of the shank of the safety pin which must extend through the garment, in order to prevent an unsightly bulge or fold in the material of the garment.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide a novel fastening device or round pin; to provide such a fastening device which is particularly adapted to be used in attaching buttons and the like to articles such as garments; to provide such a fastening device with which a button may be attached to a garment easily and quickly and with a minimum of effort; to provide such a fastening device which may be removed quickly and with a minimum of effort; to provide such a fastening device which will attach a button to a garment at a desired position without either permitting the button to shift in position or produce an unsightly fold in the garment; to provide such a fastening device which is not readily observable beneath the button; and to provide such a fastening device which may be manufactured economically in large quantities.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will become apparent from the description Which follows, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, on an enlarged scale, of a round pin or fastening device constructed in accordance With this invention;

2,851,755 Patented Sept. 16, 1958 Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the fastening device of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1;.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, similar to Fig. 1, but with the device compressed or pushed together at certain 10- cations for use in attaching a button or the like to a garment or the like;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section similar to Fig. 3, illustrating an alternative embodiment;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View, on a smaller scale than Figs. 1-5, illustrating a step in the attachment of one type of button to a garment or the like;

Fig. 7 is a side elevation, with a portion of the garment or the like in section, illustrating the step shown in Fig. 5 with a different type of button;

Fig. 8 is a bottom plan view, illustrating a further step in the attachment of a button or the like to a garment or the like; and

Fig. 9 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 7, illustrating a further type of button when finally attached to a garment or the like, by a device of this invention.

1 As illustrated in Figs. l-4, a round pin or fastening device constructed in accordance with this invention may comprise a ring 10 of suitable material, such as heat treated spring steel Wire, the overlapping ends 11 and 12 of which are preferably pointed, although only one end may be pointed. Adjacent each respective end 11 and 12 is a generally axially offset section 13 and 14, respectively, the offset section 13 extending to one side of the plane of ring 10 and the offset section 14 extending to the opposite side of the plane of ring 16, with the points of maximum displacement of the offset sections opposite each other. Offset sections 13 and 14 are preferably formed so that one section, such as section 13, will lie slightly to the outside of the other section, such as section 14, andso that the pointed end 11 will normally repose against ring 10 on the outside thereof and the pointed end 12 will normally repose against ring 10 on the inside thereof, as will be evident from Fig. 2. The offset sections 13 and 14 may be displaced from the plane of ring 10 equal or unequal amounts. Thus, one of the offset sections, such as the offset section 13, as shown in Fig. 5, may be displaced from the plane of ring 10 a greater distance than the other offset section.

The offset sections 13 and 14, which comprise an important novel feature of this invention, are adapted to be pressed together, as to the position of Fig. 4, as by pressure exerted by the thumb and forefinger of one hand of the user, so that the pointed ends 11 and 12 will be separated from the ring 10 a suflicient distance to enable either pointed end 11 or 12 to be inserted through one or more layers of cloth or the'like, as of a garment. Thus, as in Fig. 6, the pointed end 12 may be inserted through a layer 15 of cloth at an appropriate position, while the device is held with the plane of ring 10 extending at a slight angle to the plane of cloth 15, and thence through an eye 16, such as of metal, attached to a button 17, which may be spherical or have any other desired shape. It will be understood, of course, that in the usual garment more than one layer of cloth 15 Will be present at the location of the button thereof, but the device of this invention may be inserted With equal ease through several layers of cloth or the like. Or, as in Fig. 7, the pointed end 11 may be inserted through the cloth 15 in a similar manner, while the offset sections 13 and 14 are compressed together in the manner shown in Fig. 4, and thence through the eye 16 of a flat button on the opposite side of eye 16, and the offset sections ,13 and 14 released, as in Fig. 8. As will be evident from Fig. 8, as the point 12, for instance, passes around 3 through the cloth and the offset sections 13 and 14 are released, the ring tends to lie relatively flatagainst the cloth and the offset section 13 will engage the cloth and tend to hold point 11 away fromthe cloth, until ring 10 has been turned until point 11 has reached the place.

section, will pass through the cloth 15, eye 16 and cloth on the opposite. side, until the offset sections 13 and 14 are disposed on the opposite sides of cloth 15. The button will thus be attached to the cloth, as in the case of button 19 of Fig. 9, having a stem provided with a hole through which the ring 10 extends. As will be evident from Fig. 9, only a small portion of ring 10 extends across the cloth, on the same side of the cloth as the button, so that the device is inconspicuous and is not readily visible beneath the button. It will be understood, of course, that other types of buttons, such as cloth covered or cloth backed buttons, as well as other types of objects, may be attached to garments or other articles made of cloth or other material through which the device of this invention may be inserted.

For removal of the fastening device of this invention,

as to remove a button from the garment, the offset sections 13 and 14 may be compressed in the same manner as when installing the device and the device then turned, while disposed at a slight angle to the plane of the cloth 15, so that one of the ends 11 or 12 will clear the cloth on the side opposite the button, after which the offset sections may be released and the ring 10 then turned so that the remainder thereof will merely follow around and out of the cloth and the eye or hole in the button, thus releasing the button from the garment.

When the sections 13 and 14 are offset from the plane of ring 10 the same amount, either pointed end 11 or 12 may be used as the starting end for attaching a button or the like to a garment or the like, as described above in connection with Figs. 6 and 7. However, when one of the offset sections is spaced further from the plane 'of ring 10, such as the offset section 13, as shown in Fig. 5, the pointed end adjacent the offset section which is further displaced, is usually more convenient for use as the starting end, since it will be displaced further from the plane of ring 10 when the sections 13 and 14 are compressed and therefore a larger space between such end and the ring 10 is provided, which facilitates the insertion of the pointed end through the cloth and into the eye, hole or the like in the button. In such event, the end 11 adjacent offset section 13 may be pointed and end 12 blunt, although each end may be pointed, if desired.

When one offset section is displaced slightly inwardly of the other offset section, such as shown in Fig. 2, the device has a considerably less tendency to twist or turn, when the offset sections are compressed by the user, :as by grasping between the thumb and forefinger of one hand, and this further facilitates inserting the desired pointed end through the cloth, through the eyeor the like of the button, and then again through the' cloth.

While the pointed ends 11 and 12 are preferably formed and disposed so as to extend away from the ring 10 as little as possible, i. e., normally lies substantially against ring 10, such as shown in Fig. 2,.the normal position of the pointed ends relative to ring 10 does not affect the ease with which the device may be installed or removed, since only one thickness of wire passesthrough the cloth and button at any time. Due to the annular shape of ring 10, the button will not tend to shift in position and thus may be accurately attached to the cloth. Also, the

lateral extension of the offset sections'13 and 14 locks the device in position, as it were, since the ring 10 can turn in one direction only until the offset sections, at point 11, reach the cloth 15, and in the opposite direction only until the offset sections, at point 12, reach the cloth, as will be evident from Figs. 1 and 9. This will be true as long as the offset sections are not compressed together and one of the points is guided away from the cloth, as in removal.

The fastening device of this invention is readily manufactured, since a length of annealed spring wire may be cut and the pointed ends formed simultaneously, as by cutting at an angle across the wire. Then, the offset sections 13 and 14 may be formed and the wire then bent around to form the ring 10. After the final configuration is produced, the wire may be heat treated so as to impart the desired spring properties thereto. The annealing and heat treatment will depend upon the material of the wire,-

such as the carbon content and alloying elements present in a steel, and may be those recognized as appropriate for such steel. Of course, other resilient material, such as spring brass, a suitable plastic, or others may be utilized.

.certain variations thereof have been illustrated and. de-

scribed, it will be understood that other embodiments may exist, and that other changes may be made, all without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A fastening device comprising a ring formed of resilient material and having overlapping ends, at least one end being pointed, and a section adjacent each end offset generally axially from the plane of said ring, said sections being offset in opposite axial directions and being disposed on the same side of the circumference of said ring.

2. A fastening device, as defined in claim 1, wherein said offset sections are displaced substantially .equal amounts from the plane of said ring.

3. A fastening device, as defined in claim 1, wherein said offset sections are displaced unequal amounts from the plane of said ring.

4. A fastening device, as defined in claim 1, wherein said end adjacent one radially outwardly disposed offset section normally lies substantially against said ring on the outside thereof and the opposite end normally lies substantially against said ring on the inside thereof.

5. A fastening device comprising a ring formed of resilient wire and having overlapping ends, each said end being pointed, and a section adjacent each end offset generally axially from the plane of said ring, said sections being disposed on the same side of the circumference of said ring and offset in opposite axial directionsin substantially equal amounts, one said section being disposed radially outwardly from the other section so that when said sections are moved axially together the sections will be disposed in side by side relationship at the point of maximum normal offset, said sections and ends also being constructed and arranged so that the end adjacent said radially outwardly disposed offset section normally lies substantially against said ring on the outside thereof and .said ring and offset in opposite axial directions in unequal amounts, one said section being disposed radially outwardly from the other section so that when said sec- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 591,429 Skeie Oct. 12, 1897 5 1,779,369 Frederick Oct. 21, 1930 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,084,052 France June 30, 1954 

